The present invention relates to storage systems and networks, and more particularly, this invention relates to de-duplication of non-confidential files in cloud storage systems and networks.
Cloud storage is growing at a phenomenal rate, owing in part to its cost efficient model and ease in implementation. However, one major drawback for current cloud storage solutions is that many users may not want to risk putting confidential information out on a network controlled by another entity. However, corporate storage needs are increasing exponentially, with no end in storage demands in sight for the near future. For large corporations or entities that have petabytes of data storage, if even a small fraction of that data could be moved to a less expensive cloud storage solution from conventional storage solutions, millions of dollars could be saved each year.
Current storage solutions include compressing and de-duplicating storage, which save significant amounts of storage space as compared to other conventional storage solutions. However, even this tightly compacted storage is expensive to maintain. If multiple corporations or entities worked together to store all duplicated storage items in a shared (e.g., a cloud storage) solution, then each of the entities would save money. However, if any of the corporations or entities encrypt the items they store, then de-duplication is not possible. However, if the corporation or entities do not encrypt their data, then the corporations or entities are putting that data at risk, possibly allowing access to confidential information in a cloud, which is controlled by a third party entity.